When you have fine or thinning hair, the products you use play a vital supporting role, quite literally. From creating volume to holding body in place, they become crucial to making your hair ‘behave’ and look its best. However, if you don’t know what you’re doing, your products can actually work against fine hair instead of defying gravity.
‘When I’m working with clients who have fine or thinning hair, the first thing I look at isn’t the haircut – it’s what’s happening at the scalp and how they’re washing and styling at home,’ says Adele Clarke, OSMO ambassador and owner of Spectrum Hair salon.
From the wrong shampoo to the surprising volume-killing combinations, these are the things to never put on fine, thin hair.
Wash for volume
Washing your hair the wrong way can see fine hair deflating like under-cooked soufflé. ‘Many people with fine hair over-condition because they’re worried about dryness, but too much moisture can make fine hair limp,’ says Adele. ‘You want balance. A lightweight, volumising shampoo (I recommend the OSMO Extreme Volume range) is usually all that’s needed for regular washes, as it cleanses without coating the hair.
‘Then, once every couple of weeks, or whenever hair feels heavy, I recommend a gentle detox shampoo (like OSMO Scalp Therapy) to remove product build-up. This resets the scalp and creates a clean base so hair can lift properly again.’
Product build-up is one of the biggest invisible causes of fine and flat hair, she adds. ‘Even the best volumising spray won’t work properly if there’s residue sitting on the hair shaft, weighing it down. A clarifying wash gives you that fresh canvas again, so when you do style your hair, you’ll actually see the lift.’
Cut back on conditioner
When it comes to conditioning, less is more. ‘Choose something lightweight and use a small amount, focusing only on the ends. If your scalp gets oily quickly, you may not need conditioner every single wash,’ says Adele.
Reassess styling products
Styling products also need careful consideration. ‘When I have clients struggling with fine hair, the issue often isn’t that they need more product; it’s that they’re using too much or the wrong type,’ Adele tells us. ‘Fine hair collapses very easily. If you overload it, it will sit flatter against the scalp and actually look thinner.’ Not the effect you’re aiming for.
She advises being wary of rich smoothing creams or nourishing oils. ‘These products can be brilliant for thicker, coarse or curly textures because they help control frizz and add shine,’ she says. ‘Something like Moroccanoil Treatment or a rich styling cream such as Bumble and Bumble Hairdresser’s Invisible Oil can work beautifully on dense hair that needs softness and control.
‘But on finer textures, applying those kinds of formulas too close to the roots can quickly weigh the hair down. Oils in particular can make the root area collapse, instantly removing lift and movement.’
The answer, she says, is restraint. ‘Use lighter formulations and keep anything rich well away from the root area. Roots need lift, not lubrication.’
Watch out for the killer combinations
Creating styling cocktails may be trendy, but even the ‘right’ products for fine hair can kill volume stone-dead. ‘The problem lies in the combination of several lightweight formulas that on their own would be absolutely fine but together become too much for finer hair,’ says Adele.
An example she commonly sees is someone using a leave-in conditioner after washing, then adding a heat protection spray, followed by a serum or oil to smooth flyaways. ‘Each of those products serves a purpose and can be brilliant individually, but when they’re layered through the same areas of the hair, especially near the roots, they can start to weigh the hair down.’
Even volumising mousse can contribute to collapsing hair. ‘A common mistake is to apply this at the roots, followed by a smoothing cream or anti-frizz serum applied too high up the hair shaft,’ says Adele. ‘The mousse is trying to lift the hair, while the cream is adding weight and slip, so they essentially cancel each other out and the hair collapses faster.’
The answer? ‘Fine hair tends to perform best with a very edited routine,’ she advises. ‘Choose one or two styling products that solve your main concern, whether that’s lift, smoothing or heat protection, and keep richer formulas strictly to the mid-lengths and ends.’
